Connector.



G. ST. J. DAY.

CONNECTOR. APPLIUATIONHLBD MAY 2o, 1913.

Patented Aug. 4, 1914 UNITED s'rAfrEs PATENT OFFICE.

GERALD ST. JOHN DAY,` F OLDHAM, EN GLANID.V

CONNECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.-r

Application led May 20, 1913.

Patented Aug. 4, 19114. serial No. 768,715.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, GERALD ST. J oHN DAY,

. a subjectof the King of Great Britain, re-

siding at Oldham, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Connectors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to terminal mounting and cordl gripping means for electric lamp holders, adapters, or the like, and consists in so combining the terminal, the insulatingterminal mount, and the cord or con ductor, as to provide an efficient support for the terminal without the use of fixing screws" or like attachments, and, at the same time, to grip the cord for the protection of the bare wire connection, without the useV of split.

cones or' otherseparate cord gripping devices.. ,i

I provide an insulating block or support for the terminals, which may be more or less recessed to provide adequate seatingand lateral support therefor, or, it may be, for pillars or bases suitable for the attachment of the terminals. The said terminals may thusI be formed in one with the contact malfing surface, or attached to contact pieces by suitable means. The block or support is also provided With passages for the wires, leading to the said recesses where such are employed, and theterminals, which Vhave suitable provision for the connection 'of the bare Wires ma be rovided with coned or shouly P dered abutments to fit the seatings, for the better security of the mounting, as well as to assist the cord grip as hereinafter described. The said pillars or terminals are provided with stems or equivalent extensions, which are screw-threaded, roughened, or otherwise adapted to rip, and which are l passed into the holesin t e block or support along with the cord or conductor. The cord may be first passed through the block, and connected to the terminal, which mayl then be introduced into thepassage, and forced on to its seating by pulling the cord from the outer end. Thus an efficient cord grip is provided by the close conjunction of the parts alongthe passage. The cord and stem, being in gripplng communication, tend to move together, and, consequently, there is little or no strain upon the bare wire con!I nectionn Further, the i cord, when passed over the seating, is, to some extent trapped by the terminal, and additionally gripped. The passages in the block or support are slightly tapered toward the outlet.

preferably narrower at the outer than at the inner end, whether by tapering,

down, or otherwise, gripping tendency, and to enable the cord passing out beyond the terminal to more efficiently cover up and insulate the end of the latter. Pulling on the cords, or pressure upon the terminals from a lam or adapter will tend to increase both the cord grip and the security of the terminal. On the other hand, the terminal may be readily and Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate, in section, two adaptations of the invention to lamp holders.

In all the views, a is the mount, support or llock, the terminal as a whole, and c the cor In Fig. 1 the opening in the block is shouldered at d to provide a seating for the body of the terminal, and to trap the cord passing over, which seating may be at the. side as shown or otherwise.` The stemeof efficiently grip the cord c, which is pressed against the same by the sides of the passage in the bloc-k a. One of these sides is shown A detachable contact piece or plunger it is connected to the terminal by a screw projection on the latter, and the bare wire may be secured between the two parts. A vertical groove z' is formed in the terminal body to accommodate the cord on its Way to the stem. This groove is more clearly illuswithout the cord and mount, the detachable plunger being shown dotted. Alternatively or additionally the vertical or `other groove for the cord may be formed in the mount.

but the passage is symmetrically tapered,

and the stem e is centrally situated. In this case the plunger is formed in one with the steppingso as to increase the removed :from the mount, when required, by4

In Fig. 3 no shoulder such as d is used,

4, 5, 6,A and 9 show various forms of terminal,

said terminal is threaded or roughened to trated in Fig. 2 which indicates the terminal r stem, and a nut c, engaging the'ilatter, serves to nip the bare wire in place.

In Fig. t the screw projection for attaching the contact piece to the terminal body is shown on the plunger portion, reversing the method exemplified in Figs. 1 and 2. In-

this ligure, also, the roughening ofthe stem to eiiiciently grip the cord yas in the former cases.

-Thev terminal bodies in Figs. 4 and 5 `are adapted'to fit a conical seating.`

In Fig. 7 a lamp holder is shown with one ofthe terminals- 1n position, and the other ready for insertion into the passage of the mount a.-

Fig. 8 shows a form of lamp holder with out vmetalliccasing, the body a being in t-Wb partsn and o. The terminals b are attached to the'former in the manner already described.A

Downwardly projecting screws' on the tei'- minals pass into shouldered passages in the part 0. gieces h which are inserted from below. crewing up of the engaging parts vwill draw 4together the body sect-ions n, 0. This method of forming the body isI convenient, but is not claimed as partofmy present invention.

It is not essential'in al 'cases forA the body `of the terminal to enter thejpassage inthe lmount. Thus, Fig.. 9 illustrates the mounting of'a terminal suitable for adapters. 'f The stem only `enters the passage, andthe head y.forms the contacting surface. .Furthermore it will be obvious that the terminal need not invariablyl be formed as present-ing abody 'y cordjre together broughtwithn a passage v in the mount, and-that such cord, compressed and a stem, but may be ofl regular cross sec-I tion' throughout, if preferred.

' It will be seen from the foregoing descrip# tion that, by my invention, the terminal and by the mountand the terminal, retains the These screws engage the contact.

latter securely in position, while being itself efficiently gripped to prevent strain upon the bare wire connection.

Thus a simple, economical, and eflicient terminal mount and cord grip is provided, which may be readily assembled or disfmembered, andwhich conduces to better insulation and fewer parts than ordinary.

For screw lam s, one terminal may be mounted as described, while thesecond wire may be connected to the metallic casing con'- nection in the usual way; or, if desired, the

said metallic connection also may be secured according to the invention by rmeans of aprojecting stemor the like. It will be cbviousthat the invention is aplicable to other electrical devicesy than those named, such as ceiling roses, or plugs.

I claim:- 1. Ina terminal and cord mounting device, and in combination, an vinsulating Imount having a. Crestricted passage therein, a con# ducting Wire in said passage having an insulating outer coveringv in close fifictional contact with the wall of said'passage, and a contact making terminal electrically connected to said wire, and projecting within f said passage, said terminal being independ mount, and being in close frictional contact with the outer surface of lsaid insulating .covering and adapted to grip same, for the purpose and substantially as herein set forth.

2. In a terminal and cord mounting device, and in combination, an insulating mount having a restricted passage therein, a conducting wire in said passage 'having an insulating outer covering'in closefrictional contact with the Wall of said passage, anda contact making terminal electrically connected-to "said Wire, and having a stem projecting within said passage, said terminal being independent ofl direct means of attachment to said mount, and said stem being lin close frictional contact with the outer surface of Asaid insulating covering, and

ent of directv means 4of attachment to said adapted tofgrip same, forthe purpose and,

substantially as herein set forth.

In testimonywhereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

f 'GERALD ST. JOHN DAY.-

Witnesses:

ARTHUR GADD, JOHN B.f Gann. 

